


of unexpected visitors

by Acacius



Series: Sunshine for the Damned [2]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, and actually good at making friends w/ non-humans!Lionel, bless him he's an actual ray of sunshine, ft. worried!Dettlaff, heard y'all like fluff, so here's a heck of a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acacius/pseuds/Acacius
Summary: Lionel has an unexpected visitor, drinks tea, and plays Gwent. Dettlaff worries.





	of unexpected visitors

Lionel hummed to himself as he fixed a kettle of tea over the open flame, content to spend his Sunday afternoon in relative peace and quiet. Dettlaff had ventured out to one of the tiny villages that dotted the countryside to gather ingredients for their stew. The vampire wasn’t the greatest of cooks and Lionel had taken it upon himself to teach him how to prepare simple but filling meals. So far, Dettlaff had been making decent progress, going from erroneously burning bread to learning how to make sourdough biscuits from scratch. Lionel still remembered the flash of panic in his eyes when he removed the bread from the brick oven, flat and burned because he had forgotten to add yeast. The memory brought a warm smile to his lips. 

Lionel treasured simple moments with Dettlaff, moments where who they were and what their pasts had been, meant nothing. They were simply two lovers going about their day together—a domesticity that both men secretly craved. 

As he reminisced, the door to the cabin suddenly slammed open. Lionel dropped the kettle in surprise, spilling hot water onto the floor. When he looked to the doorway, he saw nothing but a faint outline that grew fuzzy when he squinted his eyes. 

“Hello?” He called out, heart beginning to race. He’d read enough tomes to know that there were quite a few vampiric creatures that could turn invisible. Sure enough, his worst fears were realized when a woman-like creature materialized in front of him, completely naked. 

He tried not to flinch when one of her blood-red nails grazed his chin, tipping his head to the side. Coal black eyes pierced his own before dipping to his throat, feeling her breath tickle his skin. 

“You have his scent. Are you a pack mate, human?” The bruxa questioned, voice rough with disuse. 

“Y-yes. I’m Lionel Belrose. Are you perhaps Esther?” Dettlaff had mentioned a particularly intelligent bruxa with dark eyes who he was quite close to—Lionel could only hope it was the creature before him. 

The woman nodded, stepping even closer to the orange-haired man. She wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his scent more deeply. “Ah, I see. You are his mate.” A noise that sounded akin to a laugh, but sharper, echoed through the cabin. “A much better choice than his last mate. She smelled like death. You smell fresh, like snow.” 

“Uh, thank you? I think?” 

Carefully, the bruxa pulled away, but kept her long talons pressed to Lionel’s shoulders as if she worried he would suddenly run off. “When will he return? I thirst.” 

“Soon. He went to town about an hour ago. I don’t think Dettlaff would like if I offered my blood to you, but could I interest you in some tea instead?” 

Esther cocked her head to the side. “Tea? Does it taste like blood?” 

“Not particularly. But who knows, you might like it, Esther.” 

…

When Dettlaff returned to the cabin as a wave of smoke, he immediately sensed the presence of one of his pack mates. Terror gripped him all at once, forcing him to take on his more monstrous form and rip the cabin door open. 

“Lionel, are you alright?” He questioned, scanning the room for any signs of the man or his pack mate. To his surprise, he found both Lionel and Esther sitting comfortably at the table, two teacups laid out before them. Gwent cards also littered the tabletop in a disheveled manner—something that either bespoke of an evenly matched game or a poor attempt at starting one. And perhaps the strangest of all things, Lionel had let the bruxa borrow his long-sleeve tunic, the heavy fabric dwarfing the shorter woman. 

“Dettlaff!” They both said simultaneously, sharing a grin at their own synchronization. 

Esther darted up to the vampire, giving a bow. When she spoke, it was in their shared vampiric tongue, leaving Lionel unfortunately out of the conversation. She did motion in his direction a few times, but otherwise kept her attention firmly fixed on Dettlaff. 

Dettlaff in turn spoke slowly, unused to speaking in anything but the common tongue since meeting Lionel. They continued to talk for a few minutes until the vampire removed his black coat and rolled up his sleeves. He drew a long, thin line of blood with his claw, offering it to the bruxa. 

Esther gave another bow before drinking, showing much restraint in the way she delicately held his arm. The vampire ran a hand absentmindedly through Esther’s hair, encouraging her to continue drinking. Lionel watched on in awe as the bruxa’s appearance shifted, turning more human-like. Her ashen skin grew darker, a light flush dusting her cheeks. Her skin became less transparent, hiding away the blue veins that rested just below the surface. When she was done feeding, she licked at the wound as it closed, giving the skin a chaste kiss before pulling away. 

“Those in my pack are not allowed to hunt innocent humans. Her thirst grew to the point that she was unable to stay in the company of humankind. She came here because she was worried about staying away from her own mate for so long.” Dettlaff explained, pulling Lionel towards him. 

Lionel’s eyes widened as he returned the embrace, a final piece of the puzzle clicking into place. “Wait, Esther’s mate is human also?” 

“She is.” The bruxa said. “The common tongue I learned from her. She is a poetess. Very lovely and kind.” 

“I didn’t realize it was so common for vampires to be in relationships with humans…” Lionel trailed, wondering briefly how many couples he’d passed in his travels had actually been composed of a human and a vampire. 

“Grows more common as times…” The bruxa paused, struggling for the right word. “Change. Less think of humans as only food.” 

“I see. Well, would you like to bring some tealeaves for you and your mate? I have plenty since Dettlaff doesn’t drink it.” 

Esther nodded. “Thank you, dear human. You are good for Dettlaff. I feel it. Here.” She pointed to her own chest. 

Dettlaff pressed a kiss to Lionel’s temple. “You are right. He is good, both in character and soul.” 

The praise brought a blush to his cheeks. He tried to hide it by putting the teacups away and putting some tealeaves in a jar, but even with his back turned, he was sure that the two vampires could sense the sudden heat in his face. 

“He is cute. Type I fed on when I was not… behaved.” Esther said, taking the tealeaves from Lionel. 

Dettlaff nodded. “It’s why I am not apt to leave him alone for long. He’s a beacon for trouble.” 

Esther left soon after, excitement clear in her youthful expression as she departed for her lover’s house. 

“I’d like to meet her lover, someday. I’m sure we’d have some interesting stories to tell.” Lionel teased, pressing a quick peck to Dettlaff’s mouth. 

Dettlaff quirked a brow, reaching to cup Lionel’s face. “Really now? Am I so different from a human lover?” 

“I… I wouldn’t know.” He confessed. “I’ve always been an outcast—only animals and the occasional beast paid me interest. Most people around my age found my empathy and hobbies to be weird.” 

Dettlaff was quick to pull Lionel into a tight embrace. “You never have to fear me or my thoughts. You deserve nothing but adoration and happiness. I have never once thought of your personality or mannerisms as odd. Everything you do is endearing—so please, never hide them from me. You accepted me despite everything I’ve done—everything I am—so it is only fair that I support you and your endeavors, Lionel.” 

“Thank you, love.” Lionel replied, burrowing his head against the vampire’s chest. He could hear the slow heartbeats, strong but well spaced out as he melted into Dettlaff’s embrace. 

For everything he endured as a child, he had been given the greatest gift in return: unconditional love. And Lionel wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Dettlaff’s inability to cook comes straight from me. tell me to prepare eight unknown samples for titrimetric determination of percent weight/weight and i can do it in like 2 hrs easy. ask me to make soup and i’m??? useless??? i’m only good at lab techniques which is a shame bc i’ve never made anything i could eat (except technically aspirin, which is cool, but utterly useless when in its unpurified state)…. 
> 
> also idk about the upload schedule for this series, which i sincerely apologize about, but i am in the midst of applying for some cool neuro programs so really i'm just writing these two when i need to destress ^^; 
> 
> anyway, hope y'all enjoyed this tiny little ficlet. i hope to write more sort've 'flash-fic' esque one-shots soon~


End file.
